Top 10 Tips to Avoid Online Scams

Running a website called “I’ve Tried That” subjects us to a lot of emails asking whether or not we’ve tried a specific program. These emails come in daily, but unfortunately we don’t have the time or resources to thoroughly look into every single request that we receive. Generally speaking, we can tell whether or not a program is a scam just by reading the URL or by quickly looking over the presell page for just a few seconds. With this post, we’d like to pass our knowledge onto you through the “I’ve Tried That 10 Commandments.” If you’re looking to make money online, you will need to live, breathe, eat, and sleep the following 10 tips. You’ll be able to tell a scam from a legitimate opportunity in no time.

Thou shalt do your research! – First and foremost, always do your research. This is as simple as typing in the websites name along with the word ‘scam’ into a search engine. While reading the results, try and stay towards forum and user discussions and avoid websites that are trying to sell the product you’re researching.

Thou shalt read the URL – The first strong indicator of whether or not you’re viewing a scam is the URL. If it’s something like www.proven-system-to-make-you-four-million-dollars-while-you-sleep.com, you can safely move along. Key scam words in URLs include: wealthy, rich, million, proven system, Enron, and of course, scam.

Thou shalt avoid sites with stock photography – These are the websites that have happy people holding bags of money and gold in front of their Ferrari that’s parked in their 8 car garage attached to their mansion on the Moon. I hate to say it, but you’ll never become that rich online.

Thou shalt not view the dreaded Google Adwords Image – Many websites promote the same crap packaged with different names. You’ve probably seen data entry, rebate processing, home typing, or make money on Google advertisements. They are all selling the same scam and they probably have an image that closely resembles this. If you come across that image, you’re going to get scammed.

Thou shalt copy the text – Randomly select a paragraph on the presell page and copy and paste it with quotes around it into Google. Make sure the paragraph you choose doesn’t contain any specific name related to the site. You want something generic like this:

“Whether you are purely a customer using our products and services, or also an affiliate promoting them, we have an incredibly exciting year in store for you!”

Copied and pasted into Google yields numerous results and presell pages. It’s safe to say that it’s a scam and you’ll likely be selling the same program you are buying.

Thou shalt watch out for “high-pressure” situations – No website magically sells out of PDF files. It’s impossible to run out of digital copies. So if you see that membership is closing tomorrow and there is a timer counting the remaining time left for you to join, it’s a scam. Refresh the page and the timer will reset. Visit the page the following day and again you will read that membership is closing tomorrow. These are common sales tactics that put you on the spot to make a decision in a split second. Don’t fall for it.

Thou shalt talk to a human being – Always try and get into contact with the websites owner if you have any doubts. If you can’t get in contact with an actual person or you receive an automated message, stop trying and move along. Although, getting in contact with an actual person isn’t a clear indicator on a sites legitimacy, but it will help you narrow your decision down.

Thou shalt not sign up for an offer through an unsolicited email – Never, ever sign up for a random program that was sent to your email address. Simply put, it is a scam. Also, upgrade your spam filter. You shouldn’t be receiving unsolicited emails in your inbox anyway.

Thou shalt check the BBB – Use the Better Business Bureau’s search function to check the legitimacy of a company as well as any complaints previous customers have had. Be sure to read any complaints in full.

Thou shalt go with your instincts – If all else fails, go with your gut instincts. If your eyes are telling you “Sign up! Look how happy those people are with their gold plated spaceships!” but your gut is telling you “I don’t think this is such a good idea…” follow your gut. It’s usually right.

Bonus Tip: Visit our subscription page to subscribe to our RSS feed or receive email notifications of updates to stay on-top of the programs we review. We do find the occasional legitimate program and you’ll definitely want to know what we have to say about it.

Bonus Tip 2: Buy our ebook to learn how to truly make real money online. We teach you the methods behind landing real work at home jobs and provide you with all the resources you need to learn how to make a few extra hundred dollars per month. Click here to visit our store.

I founded this site back in 2007. I lost $50 to a data entry scam when I was still in college. I felt ripped off and had no recourse, but to suck it up and pull an extra shift delivering food to make ends meet.I setup this site so no one would have to go through the same experience I went through. I wanted to stop scam artists from preying on the vulnerable and help regular people learn the true, legitimate ways of making money online.

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Hi Roy, No, there is no difference. The four prices were a marketing experiment. However, if you’re not in a huge rush, you might want to wait for 2.0, which we’ll make available soon. Prices for that will start at $19.95, with optional add-ons that bump up the price.

Hi there. Just being curious. Interested in getting your e-book. Regarding the e-book from IveTriedThatStore, is there any difference between the four prices? As in the more we pay the more content it has? Thanks

recently i realized similar to this that a site actively funneled me to a corp…i did some deep research and found pictures of the blogger shaking hands with the owner of the alleged company that does the web hosting…i then consulted someone i know in the biz and said that the solution of 200 a year for a site builder was not as solid as stated and said it was merely a referral tactic that the whole blog was based and targeted to beginner bloggers to scam them into paying 200 a year on an optimized customized host and my friend showed that his seo knowlege was actually superior to the company and his success greater yet he claimed that he could not make similar claims because he felt it was an ethics breach and at the end of the day his company is bettar liked on line…

I’ve Tried That was started in 2007 to help protect consumers from falling victim to online scams. We’ve written thousands of articles, helped millions of people, and have saved a countless amount of money from falling into the wrong hands.